Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Position in Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in Pacific Gas & Electric Co. (NYSE:PCG - Free Report) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,768,036 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 64,961 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Pacific Gas & Electric worth $47,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PCG. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 91,875 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,854,000 after acquiring an additional 5,212 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 43,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $876,000 after acquiring an additional 2,828 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $2,175,000. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Pacific Gas & Electric during the fourth quarter worth about $344,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Pacific Gas & Electric in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $24,770,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.56% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PCG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays decreased their price target on Pacific Gas & Electric from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Pacific Gas & Electric from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Argus raised Pacific Gas & Electric to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Pacific Gas & Electric from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $20.73.

Pacific Gas & Electric Stock Up 0.1%

PCG stock traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $13.53. The company had a trading volume of 21,707,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,128,869. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.79, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $36.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.51. Pacific Gas & Electric Co. has a fifty-two week low of $13.34 and a fifty-two week high of $21.72.

Pacific Gas & Electric (NYSE:PCG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.02). Pacific Gas & Electric had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 10.35%. The company had revenue of $5.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.37 EPS. Pacific Gas & Electric's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pacific Gas & Electric Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Pacific Gas & Electric's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pacific Gas & Electric

In other news, EVP Carla J. Peterman sold 32,519 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.30, for a total transaction of $562,578.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 151,116 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,614,306.80. This trade represents a 17.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Pacific Gas & Electric Company Profile

PG&E Corp. operates as a holding company, which engages in generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity and natural gas to customers. It specializes in energy, utility, power, gas, electricity, solar and sustainability. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Oakland, CA.